Rawlings was no saint - Daughter of renowned jailed journalist recounts bitter past
- The daughter of renowned Ghanaian journalist Mike Adjei, Abyna Ansah Adjei has reacted to death of former president Rawlings
- She recounted the bitter past the former president's' revolution put her family through
- She said Ghanaians should not pretend that he was some saint and forget the negative impact he had on thousands of Ghanaians who suffered untold horrors
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The daughter of renowned Ghanaian journalist Mike Adjei, Abyna Ansah Adjei has reacted to death of former president Rawlings.
She is among the many whose lives and that of their families were affected by the revolution of the late former president Rawlings.
Abyna in a Facebook post sighted by YEN.com.gh recounted the painful past of how the actions of former president Rawlings had left an indelible mark n her life.
Source: Facebook
She mentioned how for hours after the news regarding the sudden death of Rawlings which occurred on November 12, 2020, at the Korle-Bu teaching Hospital left her in silence.
According to her, when someone dies, their loved ones are bereft and mourn them. And it’s their right to do so. However, no one reserves the right to revise Ghana’s history simply because one of its main actors has taken his last breath.
She reminisced how on the eve of her 7th birthday, soldiers came and took her father, Mike Adjei to prison for writing an article in the Free Press that he didn’t like.
According to Abyna, her father was never tried for the so-called ‘crime’ for which he spent 1 year and 2 months at Nsawam after which for fear of his life he spent another 16 years in exile.
Her father, Mike Adjei, was among journalists jailed under the PNDC regime and forced into exile.
The Preventive Custody Law (PNDC Law 4) was used to arrest and detain three Free Press journalists between 1982 and 1985.
Mike Adjei, then a leading journalist on the Free Press, and Tommy Thompson, the managing editor, were arrested in 1983, reportedly for criticising the government in the paper. They were both released in April 1984 without charge.
Painfully she recollected how in between the years, the harassment and troubles her mother and her siblings got from from security agencies.
Just like Nana Serwaa Acheampong, she said she never for once remembered any overtures towards her mother to show remorse or apologise from the Rawlings' for messing up their lives.
Abyna mentioned that inasmuch as people celebrate Rawlings, may they not be quick use too much bleach to whitewash the not-so-admirable parts of his legacy.
She added that Ghanaians should not pretend that he was some saint who was soon to be canonised and forget the negative impact he had on thousands of Ghanaians who suffered untold horrors during the dark days of the Rawlings’ revolution.
Meanwhile, following the passing of the former Ghanaian statesman, YEN.com.gh has compiled a number of iconic photos of the ex-president which would make Ghanaians miss him even more.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
